Chapter 9: Looming Darkness.
The day dawned bright and early with clear skies and much sunshine; a good omen for the day. As Jake walked out of New Hometree, he took a deep breath and a moment to enjoy the pleasant scenery. Suddenly, the sentries sent up the call he was waiting for.
"Ikranay makto! Ikranay makto! The Council of Five of the White Rock Clan approach!" Makey announced as he bounded over to Jake.
Jake smiled. "Good. Tell Heyna and her cooks to prepare food for our guests."
The sentry was off like a shot and Jake moved towards where he saw the five elders of the mutant tribe landing their ikranay. A large group of Omaticaya gathered around the visitors, eager to meet their guests. Jake shook his head in amusement. No matter how many times he and the other Omaticaya saw the mutants riding their ikranay, they could not quite grasp how they managed to form the obvious strong bonds with the beasts without tsaheylu.
Stepping into the crowd, Jake greeted the five elders as Olo'ektan. "Greetings, Elders of White Rock. Your presence is an honor to us."
"Greetings, Olo'ektan of the Omaticaya. Your hospitality is an honor to us," Freda answered, as senior of the elders.
"Come. I will take you to our meeting place," Jake said, leading the way to a secluded spot.
Mo'at, Neytiri, First Hunter Sirok, and Norm in his avatar body were already there waiting to start the meeting. Jake took his place between Neytiri and Mo'at and indicated for his guests to sit. The five elders seated themselves before Illira made the introductions.
"As you know, Freda and Brandon are on the Council of Five along with myself. Maria and Matt, despite their young ages are also on the Council, for they are the most powerful of their divisions and were deemed the most capable by election. Freda is the eldest and the Elder for the Elementals. I am Elder for the Beastoids, Brandon is Elder for the Teloids, Maria for the Techies, and Matt for the Energions.
"Now that the introductions are out of the way, what is the status of the incoming ship, Norm?" Illira asked.
"The ship will be here in a month. We need to get a game plan together and fast," Norm replied.
"Are you certain there is no danger with this ship?" Mo'at asked.
Jake turned to her. "Yes. They won't have any great number of warriors with them and they'll all be asleep if all goes according to plan."
"What is your plan, Jake?" Freda asked.
"What Norm and I have so far, is that he and Max will tell the people on the ship not to wake the passengers, but send down the supplies. With what's on the ship, Hell's Gate will be able to last a while longer," Jake said.
"What is on the ship that would benefit the Dreamwalker Clan?" Sirok asked.
"Food, medicine, tools… Basically things we normals need to live here and keep our home running," Norm answered with a sigh.
"What if the new Sky People don't do as Norm and Max tell them?" Neytiri inquired.
Jake responded. "The other part of my plan is to station warriors around the base to let them know we are serious. If they send troops down or refuse to leave, we make them leave, pure and simple."
"How many warriors would you need for this, Jake?" Sirok asked.
"I'd like to have at least forty if not more, but I don't want to leave less than three-quarters of our remaining warriors here at New Hometree," Jake said, shaking his head at the situation.
Illira spoke up. "I don't presume to speak for the others, but I know all the Beastoids would be more than willing to help either defend New Hometree or provide support at the base."
Freda nodded. "The Elementals will be willing to help in any way we can."
"I know the Teloids are of like mind," Brandon said.
"You don't even have to ask the Techies. The base is our home too," Maria said with a firm nod.
"I know the Energions would be more than happy to help. Especially if it meant possibly blowing something up," Matt smirked, thinking of two Energions he knew personally, who both possessed concussive powers.
Jake smiled at this turn of events. With the mutants helping to fill the gaps, he would have no problems protecting New Hometree and dealing with any surprises at Hell's Gate. Sirok wasn't quite so sure.
"Please do not take this the wrong way, I mean no offense but, what can you do? You are no bigger than small children. Granted, the Sky People are no bigger, but they have powerful weapons capable of destroying a Hometree," Sirok's eyes glistened for a moment.
The Council of Five exchanged knowing looks. Illira looked up at Sirok. "We take no offense, First Hunter Sirok. You have never seen what we mutants can do up close. Allow me to remedy the situation."
Sirok suddenly found himself flying through the air only to land in a large web spun by Illira only seconds after she had thrown him. Sirok was stunned by the little mutant's performance. She had bodily thrown him as though he was no bigger or heavier than a child's toy. Scrambling off the non-sticky web, Sirok dusted himself off and bowed to the mutants.
"I apologize, mighty Illira. You have proven that though you are small, you have great power. If all your people are as powerful as you, the Sky People do not stand a chance."
Illira shook her head. "There is no need to apologize, Sirok. Also, it is not mere strength that will grant us victory."
"True. But it will sure help," Norm said, feeling considerably better knowing he had twenty-three resident mutants willing to help defend Hell's Gate.
"Well, it seems the plan is coming together. With your help, we'll be able to fully cover New Hometree and Hell's Gate, but what about White Rock? Will you be able to help us and still defend your home?" Jake asked.
"Don't worry about White Rock. We have the best defense possible. Now we should focus on who is going to be stationed where so we can practice before the ship arrives," Brandon said.
Jake nodded. "I'm guessing the Techies will be inside the base manning whatever weapons they haven't dismantled. That'll be the last line of defense on the off chance enemy warriors get in. I will take twenty of our warriors and station them around the perimeter of the base near the tarmac. Illira, your Beastoids know the forest as well as we do. I'd like to have as many of your ikranay makto as you can spare in the trees nearby. I'm not sure what the others can all do, so I'll leave that part of the plan to the Elders."
Freda smiled. "Do not worry, Jake. We will provide support as needed. We mutants, regardless of what powers we have, are quite adaptable. We will be where you need us, when you need us."
"In that case, I leave it in your hands. We can't plan for every contingency in the time we have, but we can cover the most likely scenario. Tomorrow, I'd like to start training with your people so our warriors can get used to working with mutants," Jake replied.
Illira nodded. "We'll be here."
The other Elders nodded.
"Well, technically us Techies will be inside the base the whole time, so we probably won't be there. We'll be busy preparing our arsenal. I'm just glad most of our people have technokinesis," Maria said.
"Yeah. Most of the Energions will be here, but a few will remain at the base," Matt said.
"Leah will also remain in the base, while Jen remains at White Rock. I will be here and send out the rest as scouts. We Teloids are best employed as intel people, since most of us are telepaths," Brandon said.
"The Elementals will provide assistance where needed. We will watch and plug any holes in our defenses," Freda said.
"It is decided. Tomorrow the warriors will begin practicing for when the ship arrives. But, do not forget, we all have other duties as well. Life must go on, even with the shadows of danger on the horizon," Mo'at reminded everyone.
"Yes, so for now, let us return to those duties. There will be trouble enough to worry about in time," Illira said, as the Council of Five stood to leave.
"Before you go, would you share a meal with us?" Neytiri asked.
The Elders looked at each other, then back at their hosts smiling and nodded. "It would be our honor," Freda replied.
The war council made their way to the gathering circle for the midday meal. Everyone passed by the cooks' place and took whatever food they liked best. The mutants all had their own unique tastes and preferences. Freda liked the food wraps that incorporated meat and a type of plant that was similar to cabbage, that reminded her of the traditional Polish dishes her mother used to make. Brandon had a fondness for yerik steak and tuber mash, similar to mashed potatoes. Matt and Maria gravitated towards fruit and veggies, with a little meat on the side. Illira in true Beastoid form, had a carnivore's preference and loaded her leaf plate with meat and teylu grubs, with a little fresh fruit for dessert.
The five mutants followed their hosts and sat with them, seemingly unconcerned with the stares they were getting from the curious Na'vi. The children in particular were puzzled by them, since they couldn't understand why these humans could breathe the same air, drink the same water, and eat the same food as the People, but the other humans couldn't. Still, their elders, though rather puzzled by this phenomenon, tried to get their curious children to focus more on eating than staring.
That didn't stop one little girl from asking quite loudly, "How come the White Rock Clan can eat with us but the other tawtute can't Ma'sa'nu?"
The mother of the child turned a very vibrant shade of violet in pure embarrassment as nearly every eye turned to her and her family.
Illira, being of a fun-loving nature, smirked and spoke up. "It is because our bodies were given the gift of adaptation."
The little girl was puzzled. "What's a…da…pation?"
Illira chuckled. "The Master made us so we can live in many different places. If we have to live someplace where the air is different from our old home, our bodies can change so that we can breathe the new air. It is the same for the food and water we need to live as well."
"Why?" the girl asked.
"Hush, child! You ask too many questions," the girl's mother admonished, still feeling quite embarrassed.
Illira held up her hand. "No, let her ask. It is natural for children to be curious. After all, there's so much in this grand creation of the great Master's to learn about," she smiled broadly at the girl and her mother.
The Na'vi woman looked rather shamefaced at that and gave her daughter's questioning look a nod of consent. The girl beamed and scampered over to Illira, where she promptly seated herself next to the mutant. Illira smiled and continued her explanation of how mutants could do things normal humans couldn't because of the Master's design. The child was enthralled by Illira's simple explanations to her questions and soon a whole group of Na'vi children had gathered around to listen.
Jake, Neytiri, and Mo'at looked on with expressions of pleasure and satisfaction. It was good that the children were so comfortable around the mutants and vice-versa. It was an even better sign when they caught sight of one or two parents encouraging their children to approach the mutants with questions.
"Yes, this is the beginning of a new era of cooperation between our peoples," Mo'at and Jake thought as they watched the scene before them.
